that's not really true considering alot of sexually reproducing organism's actually do things for other wildlife and plantlife.

So Cicadas don't die and decay, don't eat anything, and in turn aren't eaten by anything? Nothing lives in a bubble. Just because you hate them doesn't mean they're useless.

And yes, that IS true. It can be argued that the so-called "purpose" (which is really a laughable concept to begin with unless you believe in creationism) of ALL organisms is to reproduce, regardless of their incidental ecological impact and importance.

So Cicadas don't die and decay, don't eat anything, and in turn aren't eaten by anything? Nothing lives in a bubble. Just because you hate them doesn't mean they're useless.

And yes, that IS true. It can be argued that the so-called "purpose" (which is really a laughable concept to begin with unless you believe in creationism) of ALL organisms is to reproduce, regardless of their incidental ecological impact and importance.

my point was a bug that hibernates for 17 years after being born, and then mates and dies... isn't needed unless they provide something to the ecosystem. like if for those 17 years there present does something helpful for the tree routes then i'd understand. and that would be there purpose. most living things do contribute something that with there absence can cause a problem.

my point was a bug that hibernates for 17 years after being born, and then mates and dies... isn't needed unless they provide something to the ecosystem. like if for those 17 years there present does something helpful for the tree routes then i'd understand. and that would be there purpose. most living things do contribute something that with there absence can cause a problem.

So a bacterial endosymbiosis doesn't constitute a so-called "purpose"? I just happen to think that you're speaking from ignorance when you say that they don't "provide something to the ecosystem." Just because you don't know or understand their ecological role doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Besides, who says that their "purpose" (again a ridiculous application of the word; "role" is better) has to be one that is helpful to an ecosystem?

So a bacterial endosymbiosis doesn't constitute a so-called "purpose"? I just happen to think that you're speaking from ignorance when you say that they don't "provide something to the ecosystem." Just because you don't know or understand their ecological role doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Besides, who says that their "purpose" (again a ridiculous application of the word; "role" is better) has to be one that is helpful to an ecosystem?

ive never heard of a animal or insect that's ecological purpose didn't help the ecosystem. ...

i'm not saying there couldn't be a purpose for them to benefit the ecosystem, hell i even mentioned maybe they do something to help the tree roots in which they hibernate on. if so.. then yes that'd be a purpose.

Okay, I think this thread has retained some very interesting feedback. Therefore, let's broaden the discussion a bit. You're invited to please post pictures of the "ickiest", most weird insects that you can think of...ya know...to educate us and even gross us out. This will be the thread that makes us all itch, because you have to admit that for as ugly as some of these things are, they are fascinating as hell.

Thanks.

---Caliph

__________________

X-Men: Apocalypse seems hellbent on giving us more of what fans dread most:
Katniss dipped in a bucket of blue paint.

I came across a spider similar to this (In Iraq) but it was more orange and a little smaller. I was at a guard post and it crept up behind me . Luckily I had a stick , so I beat the living hell out of it. I told the next guard thinking it was still there but the damn thing had crawled away. We chatted for about five minutes and it came back. I kicked it into the direction of an oncoming truck that ran it over.

I present, the Wheel Bug! This F#@%er was crawling on my deck Saturday morning. I had no clue what it was. I took a cell pic here

Here's a better pic from google

It took me 46 pages of scrolling through bug pics to find out what this thing was and why it was near me and my wife and kids! Anyway, it's pretty harmless other than it inspiring terror. It's reclusive and shy. That's why I've never seen one and it's native to East North America.

Dude my wife made me spray it with Home Defense bug spray. She said it could've been poisonous and kill the kids or something I don't know. That's why I looked it up after that. I didn't want to kill like some kind of great discovery. However it wasn't. Just a freaky Wheel Bug that I never knew existed right in my backyard!

I had one of my nightmares come to life last week. I was cleaning out the garage and there was a huge spider behind some boxes. I hate spiders. I hate them very much. So I grabbed a shoe and smacked it. When the shoe hit it, it exploded into several (to me seemed like millions) baby spiders. I ran. Needless to say I fogged the crap out of the garage.

I had one of my nightmares come to life last week. I was cleaning out the garage and there was a huge spider behind some boxes. I hate spiders. I hate them very much. So I grabbed a shoe and smacked it. When the shoe hit it, it exploded into several (to me seemed like millions) baby spiders. I ran. Needless to say I fogged the crap out of the garage.

AGH!!! That reminds me of a scene in the movie The Mist, where they have these people cocconed & hanging on spiderwebs. The people then start convulsing & hundreds of little baby spiders come out of their bodies.